The first winners of the quantum crypto debate are already clear – and some of them are up 50%

The so-called quantum-resistant coins rally as traders switch to potential long-term security.

What to know:

• Google’s research suggests Bitcoin’s elliptic-curve cryptography could be broken with about 500,000 qubits, far fewer than older estimates, but such machines do not yet exist.
• Quantum-resistant or quantum-aware tokens like QRL (+50%), Cellframe (+40%) have seen notable short-term gains, reflecting trader interest in potential long-term security.

The market appears to be reassessing long‑term technological risks in crypto following Google's major quantum computing research update on Monday.

While traditional assets like bitcoin BTC$68,406.52 and ether (ETH) have seen only modest price changes, certain cryptocurrencies associated with quantum‑resistant cryptography have experienced notable strength.

This outperformance of the so-called quantum-resistant tokens shows how quickly the market is pricing in potential technological risks, even if those are still theoretical. While quantum computers capable of attacking Bitcoin are still years away, traders are already signaling an appetite for "future-proof" assets.

Late Monday, Google’s Quantum AI team suggested that quantum computers could break the elliptic‑curve cryptography used by Bitcoin, with fewer than 500,000 quantum qubits, which is significantly less than previously estimated. This prompted some analysts to cite 2029 as a potential deadline for Bitcoin and the broader blockchain ecosystem to strengthen their defenses.

The study said that a sufficiently advanced quantum computer could attack Bitcoin within nine minutes. A separate report highlighted Ethereum’s vulnerabilities, identifying five potential attack vectors that could put an estimated $100 billion of assets at risk, including DeFi and tokenized holdings.

However, such machines do not exist and remain a threat that's still a few years away.

Still, over the past 24 hours, the market has shown increased interest in cryptocurrencies and projects that emphasize post‑quantum cryptographic designs, research into future‑proofing security, or that appear relatively more resilient than legacy chains.

Notably, Quantum Resistant Ledger (QRL) and Cellframe (CEL) have surged 50%, reflecting growing market attention to truly post‑quantum protocols, according to data source Coingecko. Other tokens in the category, such as Abelian (ABEL), have risen 25%, while Qubic (QUBIC) and QANplatform (QANX) have each gained 10%, and even the privacy‑focused Zcash (ZEC) has added nearly 7% in the same period.

The market cap of this group, comprising 20 coins, has increased by 8% to $4.66 billion over the past 24 hours. It's worth noting that ZEC is not yet truly quantum-resistant but is still included in the category by data sources because of its advanced cryptographic foundations, such as zero-knowledge proofs, and ongoing research into post-quantum secure ZK-SNARKs. These factors make it part of the “quantum-aware” narrative, even if it does not currently fully implement post-quantum cryptography.

While the risks remain largely theoretical, they have been influencing market behavior since last year. According to Charles Edwards, founder of Capriole Investments, concerns over quantum attacks contributed to Bitcoin’s decoupling from the rising stock market in the second half of 2025, with the cryptocurrency sliding from $126,000 to $80,000 in the final months of the year.

"We have already started to see quantum risk be priced into Bitcoin. It’s the primary reason Bitcoin is trading -50% against the S&P 500 and -90% against gold since the inaugural Bitcoin Quantum Summit seven months ago," Edwards said in a report in February.

Coincidentally, this was exactly the period when the quantum-resistant leader ZEC staged a sharp rally. ZEC surged by over 1,200% in the second half of 2025, hitting a high of $744.

More For You

Most crypto privacy models weaken as blockchain data grows. Encryption-based models like Zcash strengthen. CoinDesk Research maps the five privacy approaches and examines the widening gap.

Why it matters:

As blockchain adoption scales, the metadata available to machine learning models scales with it. Obfuscation-based privacy approaches are structurally degrading as a result. This report provides a comprehensive comparison of all five major crypto privacy architectures and a framework for evaluating which models remain durable as AI capabilities improve.

More For You

Asian stocks surged 4% and S&P 500 futures jumped after Trump said the conflict could conclude without a deal with Tehran, while Morgan Stanley's newly approved bitcoin ETF at 14 basis points opens a $6.2 trillion advisory channel.

What to know:

• Asian stocks and U.S. equity futures rallied sharply after President Trump said he would give an "important update" on Iran and predicted the war could end within weeks.
• Oil prices rebounded as reports said the United Arab Emirates is preparing to help the U.S. and allies forcibly reopen the Strait...

These catalysts could bump bitcoin as Trump hands three-week target to end Iran war

42 minutes ago

XRP holds $1.34 as supply tightens but price fails to break higher

1 hour ago

Hong Kong hasn’t issued a single HKD stablecoin license after March target

2 hours ago

Bitcoin is closer to its 'buy zone' than it's been in three years

2 hours ago

Bitcoin enters the public bond market as Moody’s gives a first-of-its-kind crypto deal a rating

7 hours ago

What's next after bitcoin's historic underperformance stretch against stocks

9 hours ago

Charles Hoskinson not a fan of CLARITY Act, warns of 'weaponization' by future lawmakers

13 hours ago

Google warns five quantum attack paths could put $100 billion on Ethereum at risk

17 hours ago

Clarity Act ‘not a gatekeeper’ for crypto innovation, WisdomTree exec says

10 hours ago

Bitcoin bulls scramble for post-quantum protection as Google drops bombshell paper

18 hours ago

Downside risk remains as bitcoin nears record-tying six-month losing streak

17 hours ago

Coinbase’s Base to focus on tokenized markets, stablecoins, developers this year

17 hours ago

In this article

BTCBTC$68,406.52◢1.15%